Creston in Grand Rapids in Kent County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Barber Briggs House
Barber and Mary Swan Briggs migrated to the Ann Arbor area from New York State in 1834. They moved to a large parcel of land near Grand Rapids in 1850, clearing it for a farm and constructing this house in 1850-52. Their son Edward served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1873 to 1876, and around 1875 their son Charles developed the property into an eighty acre dairy farm called the Oakgrove Dairy Company. In 1911 Charles Briggs sold eleven acres of land at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Knapp Street to the city of Grand Rapids for use as a park, which the city named Briggs Park. The Briggs farmland was eventually subdivided as the Pasadena Park neighborhood; however, the farmhouse has remained in the Briggs family for over 150 years.
Erected 2000 by Michigan Historical Center and the Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L803.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.
Location. 43° 0.418′ N, 85° 39.02′ W. Marker is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in Kent County. It is in Creston. It is on Plainfield Avenue Northeast near Arlington Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2420 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids MI 49505, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Michigan. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans' Facility (approx. 0.8 miles away); Purple Heart Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); Veterans' Cemetery (approx. 0.9 miles away); Old North Park Bridge (approx. 1.1 miles away); Creston World War II Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Monroe Avenue Water Filtration Plant / The Beginning of Water Fluoridation (approx. 1.6 miles away); Baseball's Reserve Clause (approx. 2.3 miles away); They Played For The Love Of The Game (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Rapids.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 24, 2022, by Nathan Bierma of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This page has been viewed 2,029 times since then and 211 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 24, 2022, by Nathan Bierma of Grand Rapids, Michigan. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.


